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If you’ve already read my debut novel, The Lightning in the Collied Night, you have some idea of what ho’oponopono is. If you haven’t read it yet, you may be thinking, “ho-oh-what?” At least, that’s the reaction for a character in my novel when she first hears about ho’oponopono. (For the record, it’s pronounced HO-oh-Po-no-Po-no.)

In my previous blog post, which was a “flash fiction” story, Keone Ailana plans to introduce his 14-year-old son Kapono to ho’oponopono. Keone is trying to help Kapono deal with his anger and inability to forgive himself, and the Earth, for the death of his mother in the Maui Fire of 2023, when he was just shy of his fifth birthday. Why would Keone, of Polynesian heritage and a life-long resident of Maui, choose to use ho’oponopono to help his son?

As explained in a Psychology Today blog post, ho’oponopono is an ancient native Hawaiian method of apology and forgiveness that is practiced by many people around the world. The word ho’oponopono means, “to make things right.” In essence, that’s what this therapy is all about. As noted in the aforementioned article: “When heartfelt, ho’oponopono rectifies and helps heal the person asking forgiveness or all the people involved in the process.”

As discussed in the Psychology Today article and in my novel, there are four steps in the ho’oponopono process: Remorse, Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Love. Those four steps are manifested by some words—like a mantra—that ho’oponopono practitioners say:

I’m sorry… please forgive me… thank you… I love you.

Saying these few words over and over, or even just occasionally, can have a powerful, positive impact on a person’s well-being, and the well-being of others. Practitioners believe that saying this mantra helps cleanse your body of guilt, shame, haunting memories, ill will, or bad feelings that can keep your mind fixated on negative thoughts. But, how can it help others? A core belief of ho’oponopono is that everyone and everything is connected.

I learned about ho’oponopono over ten years ago from a counselor who taught me meditation techniques. She recommended the practice and suggested some resources to learn more about it. After I did that, I incorporated ho’oponopono into my daily life. Although my use of the practice has ebbed and flowed over the years, I believe it’s been helpful to me. A small example: when I repeat the mantra when someone makes a dumb-a** maneuver near me on a crowded freeway, it’s hard to be anxious, angry or upset when saying the words in the mantra. Try it sometime—see what you think.

You might wonder why I decided to incorporate ho’oponopono into my novel. If you’ve read it (and if you haven’t, SPOILER ALERT ahead!), you know that a major theme of the book is the power of love and forgiveness to heal a person… or perhaps an entire world. I thought ho’oponopono fit perfectly with that theme. Then I thought, What if a teammate (eventually a friend) of the protagonist were from Hawaii and practiced ho’oponopono? What would be the impact on his friend and other characters in the book? The answers to those questions are… sorry, you’ll have to read the book!  🙂

I think ho’oponopono is so potentially beneficial in today’s crazy world that I arranged for a certified ho’oponopono practitioner, Caronda Hampton, to present on the ancient practice at my Book Launch event in the Twin Cities on August 19th. I’m grateful to Caronda for helping participants get a much better understanding of and appreciation for ho’oponopono. There’s links to the video from that event and the slides from Caronda’s presentation on my home page.

To learn more about ho’oponopono, please refer to the linked article above or other articles and books about ho’oponopono, and/or talk with a practitioner like Caronda.

I’m sorry I could only scratch the surface of ho’oponopono in this blog post, and in my book. I hope you’ll forgive me for keeping this short; thank you for reading it. I love you.

 

(Image source: biblianagonzalez/Pixabay)

Author

  • David Backman

    David Backman is a native Minne-snow-tan, naturalized Texan, and lifelong sci-fi lover. He lived most of his life in the Twin Cities and retired in 2023 from a 44-year IT career to focus on writing and volunteering. The Lightning in the Collied Night is his debut novel.

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